Is suffering supposed to make sense? Why do we suffer? At first this question seems intuitive. However, after the first spontaneous outburst of answers, we start to question why there is suffering in the world and how we can make sense of it. Generally, when these ultimate questions are asked we tend to assert conclusions based on God or our personal values. It goes beyond that. Religion provides a guideline for these questions, and our values are extremely important for a sense of identity, however these questions can be reconciled by looking at them holistically in terms of religion, psychology and philosophy.
As a general guideline, people use the structures of religion, philosophy and psychology to answer the question, how can we make sense of suffering? For the most part, all three systems of thought view suffering as intrinsic to the human condition, and an important part of emotional, cognitive and spiritual development.
For most people, especially those who are religious adherents, suffering is generally viewed as a form of evil in the world. Generally, evil is classified into two categories, natural and moral. Natural evil are things such as earthquakes and volcanoes, which humans have limited control over. Moral evil is evil which leads to suffering, which arise from the deliberate choice of …show more content…
Core to Buddhist is this notion of desire. Desire is a form of internal conflict, something which we want but cannot have. Carl Jung wrote in his 1957 classic, The Undiscovered Self, that “a true understanding of the inner self recognizes the existence of good and evil within us” (Michaelson, 2012). Michaelson summarises this by saying, “the bitterness and rage we may experience is a cover-up for our willingness to indulge in feeling victimized in some manner or other” (Michaelson, 2012). From both Jung and Michaelson, they state that suffering is caused by some internal conflict within the
As a general guideline, people use the structures of religion, philosophy and psychology to answer the question, how can we make sense of suffering? For the most part, all three systems of thought view suffering as intrinsic to the human condition, and an important part of emotional, cognitive and spiritual development.
For most people, especially those who are religious adherents, suffering is generally viewed as a form of evil in the world. Generally, evil is classified into two categories, natural and moral. Natural evil are things such as earthquakes and volcanoes, which humans have limited control over. Moral evil is evil which leads to suffering, which arise from the deliberate choice of …show more content…
Core to Buddhist is this notion of desire. Desire is a form of internal conflict, something which we want but cannot have. Carl Jung wrote in his 1957 classic, The Undiscovered Self, that “a true understanding of the inner self recognizes the existence of good and evil within us” (Michaelson, 2012). Michaelson summarises this by saying, “the bitterness and rage we may experience is a cover-up for our willingness to indulge in feeling victimized in some manner or other” (Michaelson, 2012). From both Jung and Michaelson, they state that suffering is caused by some internal conflict within the